


It's Never Simple

by csichick_2



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: M/M, Multi, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 15:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5502491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csichick_2/pseuds/csichick_2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Oliver meets Asher, things get a lot more complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Never Simple

**Author's Note:**

  * For [musikurt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/musikurt/gifts).



> For timeline reference, this takes place after Oliver meets Michaela, Laurel, and Wes and before Connor and Oliver get HIV-tested.

“How come I didn’t meet Asher?” Oliver asks a couple days after he had met the rest of the Keating Five.

 

“He’s a huge asshole, you don’t want to meet him,” Connor replies but his body language suggests that’s not the reason.  Or at least not the only reason.

 

“He can’t be _that_ bad,” Oliver replies.  “Unless he’s homophobic.  He’s not, is he?”

 

“What? No!” Connor exclaims.  “Asher may not have much of a filter between his brain and his mouth but he’s not homophobic.”

 

“Then why don’t you want me to meet him?” Oliver asks.  “Or him to meet me, whichever it is.”

 

“If you want to meet him that badly, fine you can meet him,” Connor retorts, as he pulls out his phone.  “See, I’m texting him right now.”

 

Oliver shakes his head.  He knows there’s a story there and since Connor clearly isn’t going to tell him, maybe he can get it out of Asher.

 

*****

 

They end up back at the same bar as before, but this time Connor seems a lot more nervous.  “This was a bad idea,” he mutters.

 

Oliver rolls his eyes.  “It will be fine.”

 

“That’s what you say now,” Connor retorts.

 

Asher arrives before Oliver can think of a response.  “It’s great to meet you,” he says brightly to Oliver.  “I was starting to think you didn’t want to meet me because of well, you know…”

 

“Because of what?” Oliver asks, looking between Asher and Connor.

 

Asher’s eyes widen.  “You don’t know.”  He turns to Connor.  “You didn’t tell him?”

 

“That you were one of the people I fucked while he and I were split up?” Connor spits out.  “No, I didn’t.  So thanks a lot for opening your big mouth as usual.”

 

“Well if you didn’t want me to say anything you should have told me that,” Asher shoots back, a wounded look on his face, before turning to Oliver.  “Look I’m sorry.  I assumed you knew and that’s why I wasn’t invited when you met the others.”

 

“No, that was all Connor’s doing,” Oliver replies.  “He seemed very against us meeting and now I know why.”

 

Asher bites his lip.  “Um, I should go.  Let the two of you talk.”

 

“Yeah, you do that,” Connor says harshly.

 

“Why are you being such a dick?” Oliver hisses as soon as Asher’s out of earshot.  “It’s not his fault you didn’t tell me the two of you hooked up.”

 

Connor gives Oliver a shocked look.  “You’re taking his side?”

 

“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” Oliver replies.  “And the middle of a bar is not the place to be having this discussion.”

 

“I’d rather not have it all,” Connor mutters.

 

“Well that’s not an option,” Oliver says.  “Let’s go settle the tab and then go back to my place, okay?”

 

“At least I’ll be fully dressed if you kick me out again,” Connor says glumly.

 

“I’m not going to kick you out, Connor,” Oliver responds shaking his head.  “Unless you’re still fucking him.”

 

“God no!” Connor exclaims.  “I never should have in the first place.”

 

As they drive home, Oliver wonders if Connor picked up on the same thing he had.  Clearly whatever had happened between the two mean meant something to Asher.  Oliver’s just not sure what it meant to Connor.  And that’s where it gets complicated.

 

*****

 

“I’m not sure where to start,” Oliver says once they’re inside his apartment and settled on his couch.  “With why you didn’t want me to know that you and Asher have history.  Or with why you said you shouldn’t have slept with him to begin with.”

 

Connor sighs.  “The short version is that it got way too fucking complicated.  And considering you threw me out because I couldn’t keep it in my pants, I think you can understand why I wouldn’t want to tell you about it.”

 

“I threw you out because you cheated on me,” Oliver reminds him.  “You sleeping with Asher is different because we weren’t together then.”

 

“It still didn’t seem like a topic to discuss under the circumstances,” Connor says with a shrug.

 

“Okay, I will grant you that one,” Oliver replies.  “But you should have told me when I started pressing you about meeting him.  Unless there’s something else there you’re not telling me.”

 

“It was just as much about him being an asshole than the fact we’d slept together,” Connor says.  “He’s better when he’s drunk surprisingly.”

 

“How did it happen?” Oliver asks, genuinely curious.  “He didn’t exactly ping my gaydar for the entire five minutes I was around him.  Despite the pink shirt.”

 

Connor barks out a laugh.  “He dresses gayer than I do.  And he didn’t ping mine either.  He failed at getting laid and decided to show up at my apartment with beer instead.  We got really drunk and things happened.  And then I was the one freaking out the next morning.”

 

Oliver can’t help but chuckle.  “Because it was him or because you thought you’d slept with a straight guy?”

 

“A little of both,” Connor admits.  “He said that he’d been curious for awhile, and that after sleeping with me, he was pretty sure he was bisexual.  We slept together a few more times after that, but it wasn’t serious.”

 

“Not for you at least,” Oliver says.

 

“What do you mean?” Connor asks, confused.

 

“Did you see his face when you said he was one of the guys you’d fucked?” Oliver asks.  “I know exactly what he was feeling.”

 

“Well fuck,” Connor exclaims.  “That’s another reason why sleeping with him was a mistake.”

 

“Well there went my theory,” Oliver says wryly.  “Because I thought you’d picked up on what I did.”

 

“You give me too much credit,” Connor says with a snort.  “Just because it wasn’t serious doesn’t mean it didn’t mean anything,” he adds quietly, picking at the sleeves of his shirt.  “And I couldn’t let anyone else past my defenses.  Not after what happened with us.  I’d essentially already stopped sleeping with him before I came here that night.”

 

“Define essentially,” Oliver says carefully.

 

“I’d decided that I wasn’t going to have sex with him again.  I just hadn’t told him that yet,” Connor says nonchalantly.  “And then I freaked out that night and came here.”

 

“So you broke up with him by getting back together with me,” Oliver says with a sigh.  He’s lucky that Asher doesn’t hate him on principle.

 

“We weren’t dating,” Connor protests.  “We just fucked sometimes.”

 

“Between when I kicked you out and when you came here that night, was there anyone else you slept with more than once?” he asks.

 

“Well… no,” Connor admits.

 

Oliver shakes his head at Connor’s obliviousness.  “Most people would define what you and Asher had as an open relationship.  So yes, you broke up with him by getting back together with me.”

 

“Jesus, I’m an asshole,” Connor mutters.

 

“You are, but I love you anyway,” Oliver says lightheartedly.  “And I think Asher might too.”

 

“What are we going to do, Ollie?” Connor asks.  “I have to see him pretty much every day.”

 

“First you’re going to give me Asher’s number so I can get to know him without your presence making things uncomfortable,” Oliver says, ignoring the sound of protest Connor makes.  “And we’ll figure it out from there.”


End file.
